copy desk

American  

noun

Journalism.

1. the desk in a newspaper office at which copy is edited and prepared for printing.

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copy desk British  

noun

1. journalism a desk where copy is edited

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Etymology

Origin of copy desk

An Americanism dating back to 1925–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

copy desk

She’s thrilled to join The Times’ copy desk as a multiplatform editing intern with the Dow Jones News Fund.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2025

A colleague told me later that the thought the anger was unusual coming from me, as I was typically a polite Mr. Dependable around the copy desk.

From Salon ● May 27, 2023

Anyway, at one point, the late Mason Sizemore, who then was chief of the copy desk and would rise to become president of The Seattle Times, told me, “You’re doing journeyman work.”

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 17, 2023

In 1983, on a fellowship that took him to Paris, he worked on the copy desk of the International Herald Tribune.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 24, 2022

The copy desk is supposed to catch those kinds of errors before they make the paper.

From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride